Excellent dinner here Saturday night. Ms. R and I arrived 6:45, no reservation, told 15 min wait. Drinks at bar, Sauvignon Blanc for her (very good) and a Coke for me (no stinting on the syrup here), for about 20 minutes. Dinner: Appetizer order of sea salt fries, short rib linguini, chicken sandwich subbing side salad for fries (there's no side salad on menu, and the fries looked delish, so this seemed the best strategy.)
Fries tasted even better than they looked: Large square cross sections, barely crispy outside, fluffy inside, minimal grease. Despite not being plank cut, these were some of the best steak style fries I've had.
Short ribs: Excellent fresh pasta, seemed likely to be house-made. Generous amount of falling-apart short ribs in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. Served with a pretty pair of grilled bread slices - no garlic butter
!
Chicken sandwich: Very nicely battered meaty chicken breast, arugula, bread&butter style pickles on a briochey bun. Accompanied by a generous frisee and tomato salad.
We shared the dessert from the Valentine menu: Heart shaped lava cake with raspberry coulis and what appeared to be a yogurty pastry cream (called whipped cream on the menu.) Also excellent, slightly crispy outside, gooey inside, nothing overly sweet and sauce artfully drizzled off to the side.
Service was friendly but a little odd. I suspect our waiter was a bartender recently promoted or pressed into server. He took our order, including the salad substitution, and wrapped up with the usual "anything else" when I reminded him that he needed to ask about salad dressing. Later, after we ordered dessert he brought dessert plates and then went behind the bar to handle some busywork there. Several minutes later he came over to look at us as if to say, "What are you two still doing here?" We reminded him about the dessert and he brought it right out. Perhaps a food runner missed a cue? Seeing how things were going, we asked for the check when dessert was served. We ate dessert, a busser removed our tableware, and we waited. Eventually we stood up at the table - neither of us are good at sitting for long periods on straight chairs. Waiter came by, said "Thanks for coming in!" At that point we shrugged and thought, we could just walk out now for a free meal. Being honest plus likely to return, we waited until he eventually meandered back and asked for the check.
Overall, Ms. R, a far bigger restaurant diner than I, pronounced it one of the best meals she's had in the past year or more. We'll be back! Just hoping for a different server next time. Even with that, something to laugh about on the way to the car.
As noted above, parking is nightmarish. Several streets are now one way the wrong way and/or permit only after 6pm. Suggestion: Turn south at the gas station a block east of the Pig. We found several spots there and on the adjacent side streets.